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Herzog, Harvey elected to Hall of Fame

Herzog, Harvey elected to Hall of Fame

INDIANAPOLIS -- Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey, contemporaries on opposite sides of baseball's battle line, will soon be united in baseball's shrine.

But the Hall of Fame reunion of two other baseball adversaries, former commissioner Bowie Kuhn and former players union boss Marvin Miller, will have to wait.

Herzog, whose 18-year managerial career produced 1,281 wins and postseason appearances by six of his clubs, and Harvey, who called 4,670 games during a 31-year career as a National League umpire, were the Veterans Committee's choices for induction into the Hall of Fame.

At a mid-Monday Busch Stadium media conference following the morning announcement of their selection at the Winter Meetings, Herzog called his co-electee "my good friend, Doug Harvey" to trigger guffaws in the audience.

"It's strange," Herzog said, "because Doug kicked me out of more games than any other umpire."

Commissioner Bud Selig was among those immediately hailing the elections of Herzog, 78, and Harvey, 79.

"I am very pleased that the Veterans Committee has elected Doug Harvey and Whitey Herzog to the Baseball Hall of Fame," the Commissioner said in a statement. "Doug set a very high standard for the umpires of his generation and those who followed. Whitey had a great impact on our game, managing consistently winning teams with a unique combination of speed and defense.

VETERANS COMMITTEE VOTING MANAGERS/UMPIRES BALLOT

Here are the results of the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee balloting for Managers/Umpires. Twelve of 16 votes were needed for election.

CANDIDATE

VOTES

Doug Harvey

15

Whitey Herzog

14

Danny Murtaugh

8

Hank O'Day

8

Charlie Grimm

3

Davey Johnson

Fewer than 3

Tom Kelly

Fewer than 3

Billy Martin

Fewer than 3

Gene Mauch

Fewer than 3

Steve O'Neill

Fewer than 3

"I congratulate both Whitey and Doug on this highest honor and I look forward to their induction on July 25."

A separate Veterans Committee on executives and pioneers did not elect any of 10 candidates, including Miller, who fell two votes shy of catching up in Cooperstown with Kuhn, enshrined posthumously in 2008.

The committees' decisions were announced Monday morning at the site of baseball's annual Winter Meetings.

Two Hall of Fame players attending the announcement could offer relevant perspectives on both developments.

Former shortstop Ozzie Smith belonged to the managers/umpires committee and had turned summersaults for Herzog's Cardinals for a decade.

"I think he was one of the guys who started managers looking at doing more creative things," Smith said of Herzog.

Hall of Fame right-hander Tom Seaver was on the 12-man executives/pioneers committee and had to be disappointed by the near-miss of Miller, whose election he had supported.

Hall of Fame chairman of the board Jane Forbes Clark, who announced the committees' choices, called Sunday night election meetings here "very intense."

Herzog, who managed both the Kansas City Royals and St. Louis Cardinals into three postseasons each, received 14 votes from the 16-member Veterans Committee.

He called his election anti-climactic, in so many words.

"I've been on the ballots for so danged long," said Herzog, who missed selection by one vote the last time around, when Dick Williams was the lone elected candidate. "So when I got the call, I was really not that excited about it.

"But it worked out all right, and I'm happy. My wife and daughter were crying and I told them, 'You girls are gonna make me cry.' I'm damn happy that it's over, and I'm happy for the fans of St. Louis."

VETERANS COMMITTEE VOTING EXECUTIVES/PIONEERS BALLOT

Here are the results of the Hall of Fame's Veterans Committee balloting for Executives/Pioneers. Nine of 12 votes were needed for election.

CANDIDATE

VOTES

John Fetzer

8

Marvin Miller

7

Jacob Ruppert

7

Ewing Kauffman

6

Gene Autry

Fewer than 3

Sam Breadon

Fewer than 3

Bob Howsam

Fewer than 3

John McHale

Fewer than 3

Gabe Paul

Fewer than 3

Bill White

Fewer than 3

Herzog could uniquely have fit on both ballots. He was Bobby Cox before Bobby Cox, as St. Louis general manager assembling the roster he subsequently managed into three World Series in the 1980s.

Prior to that reign, Herzog had guided the Royals to three consecutive championships of the original American League West from 1976-78.

Harvey received 15 votes in recognition of a 31-year umpiring career in the National League. In addition to his NL efforts, he worked six All-Star Games, five World Series and seven League Championship Series.

"I am very touched by this honor. I accept this election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on behalf of all umpires -- from the Minor Leagues to the Major Leagues -- and for those who umpire at every level.

Ten years into my career, my late father said to me that one day, I would realize what I have achieved. When I woke up this morning, and I received the call from Cooperstown, I realized for the first time exactly what that means. My mother tried to stay alive for this day. Unfortunately, she was unable to share in this great honor with my wife, Joy, and me."

Herzog and Harvey will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 25, 2010.

Verbal slings and arrows aside, Herzog clearly was pleased to be part of a Cooperstown parlay including Harvey. Most of their disagreements, the former manager recalled, concerned protecting fields against threatening weather.

In particular, Herzog said, Harvey would wait too long to order the tarp on the field, rendering it unplayable.

"But he was a very good umpire," Herzog said, "just the worst damn weatherman."

Miller received seven votes from the 12-member committee, falling two shy of selection. Leading that vote with eight was John Fetzer, former owner of the Detroit Tigers.

Miller's legacy had been revisited just last week, when Michael Weiner was installed as only the fourth executive director of the MLBPA since 1966.